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Thread: Welding advice ?

  1. #1
    Boolit Master Shawlerbrook's Avatar
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    Welding advice ?

    Getting tired of asking my neighbor to do minor repairs on trailers, plows and other implements around the place. Working 120 acres things break. Looking for advice on getting a small welder just to do minor repairs. Things like trailer tongues and angle iron corners on the boxes. Don’t plan on doing major fabrication and repairs don’t have to look pretty. Don’t want to break the bank. Was looking at some of the HF welders. Looking for any advice from those who have some welding experience.

  2. #2
    Boolit Master Ozark mike's Avatar
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    Oxy acet is the way to go for most even if they dont realize it. You can do cast steel aluminum brazing soldering heating In the wind without electric. Just about anything can be welded with a torch. If your goin to be doing a whole bunch of .375 or heavier id also get a used 225 lincoln. If you need more info let me know
    Those who would trade freedom for safety deserves neither and will lose both

  3. #3
    Boolit Master clintsfolly's Avatar
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    Check out your local community collage they probably have basic welding class. Probably the best money you will spend to get you to the point of doing your repair work!

  4. #4
    Boolit Master trapper9260's Avatar
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    a stick welder will cover what you mainly looking to do ,also a set of touched
    Life Member of NRA,NTA,DAV ,ITA. Also member of FTA,CBA

  5. #5
    Boolit Master
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    If you are doing to be welding up heaver stuff like over 1/8 or 1/4 inch the 225 Lincoln will be probably the cheepest and the best.my Hobart handler does good but only thin stuff. 1/4 in max. It’s more for thin stuff and sheet metal. The easier for me is a good mig but they are very expensive. The stick wilder is very hard for me to use and start a ark unless you use it a lot and get practice with it. The Hobart handler was good at mufflers and sheet metal in the body shop. Did usally everything I needed. But a lot of stuff on the farm is thicker than 1/4 in. My dad has a cheep Lincoln mig flux core welder and it’s actually good at 80% of the stuff I need done.

  6. #6
    Boolit Buddy
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    Lincoln ac/dc 225/125 stick is my recommendation. If schools in your state use an online auction firm to disperse what they replace, deals can be found there on welders. If you don’t know how to weld AC current is easier starting out (rod doesn’t stick as easy) but you waste rod and it’s much more difficult to weld in positions that are not flat. My reason for recommending the ac/dc. DC uses less electricity if that matters to you. Get some 6011 rod to practice with and you will have a good understanding after about 10 lbs is burned along with reading about welding. Auctions have cheap rod most of the time that is sufficient for practice. A wire welder with the current needed for farm jobs will cost more than a stick welder usually.

  7. #7
    Boolit Master Ozark mike's Avatar
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    A real welding school will usually start you out on a torch because it teaches you how to manipulate the puddle. With farm jobs you will not always have electric unless you own a 12kw portable genset.
    Those who would trade freedom for safety deserves neither and will lose both

  8. #8
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    Most harbor freight welders are barely good enough for sheet-metal. If you want to Meg get a better quality unit. On arc welder it's gonna be better suited if you need quarter inch or more steel. Acetylene torches are nice because they can do brazing cutting and welding.
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  9. #9
    Boolit Master
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    Ive done lots of welding ,like maybe used tons of rods in big tins,and I never cease to be amazed at the little shoebox sized "inverter welders"........In the old days ,crowd I worked for had a Italian "Essetti" inverter ,the thing cost like $1200,and needed regular $400 repairs ......but it could be used off a ladder ,and would work on 100feet of extension lead.....Now the inverters cost $150 for a pretty good one,so on that basis ,you can afford to throw one away if it fails.........My favorite stick welder is the Lincoln SAE 300 horizontal ,heavy and 3 phase ,but what a welder ......next is the Lincoln 250Mk ,upright bullet .

  10. #10
    Boolit Grand Master
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    Should be able to find a Lincoln stick welder for $100-$125 at a pawn shop or yard sale. My first one was $100 and when the cooling fan went out I found a nearly new one at a yard sale for $125. Its red, rectangular and the switch increases power about 15 units each click. 6011 are good deeper penetrating rod, and I use 7014 also. 1/8". Inherited gas welding setup from Grandfather, but have seen them at yard sales for about the prices of a stick welder. I had a class in high school in the 9th grade that taught me a bit about gas and stick welding.
    They have come in handy over the decades

  11. #11
    Boolit Buddy
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    Not a welding expert but I have done a lot of welding. I would go with a 225amp MIG with .030 or .035 wire. You can weld thin 1/8 up to 1/2 easily. It is easy to use and you don't need different rods.

    A torch puts out way too much heat and is not good for thicker metal and required more skill.

    JMHO

  12. #12
    Boolit Master Ozark mike's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Huskerguy View Post

    A torch puts out way too much heat and is not good for thicker metal and required more skill.

    JMHO
    Gtaw and ofw are the only two methods accepted for airframes
    Those who would trade freedom for safety deserves neither and will lose both

  13. #13
    Boolit Master
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    I've been happy with my HF Titanium Easy-Flux 125 amp welder, as are many others, read the reviews:
    https://www.harborfreight.com/titani...der-56355.html

    The HF haters will always poopoo anything HF even if they never owned it.

    I still have the other HF 90 amp welder too, and built a few MC trailers with it, before converting it to DC negative electrode with $20 worth of electronics:
    https://www.harborfreight.com/flux-1...der-63582.html
    Again read the reviews...

    That Easy-Flux 125 is a DC based invertor and is better than the AC 125 amp old tech welder though.
    I've welded up to 3/8" thickness by V'ing out both sides of butt welds.

    You might have trouble finding one though, they've been pretty scarce since they came out.
    Here's a thread by owners of the easy-flux:
    https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/...d.php?t=430172

    Edit: some vids here: https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...125+Amp+Welder
    Last edited by Kenstone; 06-15-2020 at 12:26 AM.
    Size/Prime a few cases when starting off with a progressive and put them aside. You can plug them back into the process when a bad/odd case screws up in the priming station and continue loading.

  14. #14
    Boolit Master Shawlerbrook's Avatar
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    Appreciate all the responses. Will definitely check out the CC’s and BOCES to see about classes.

  15. #15
    Boolit Buddy
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    Buy a Lincoln or Miller 200 Amp stick welder, Bought one( Miller) for couple of hundred bucks that was used 2 times, 50 amp, 220 volt. This is all you need. Wire welding is easier( GMAW) but you will need something about 200 AMP machine to weld heavier than 1/4".

  16. #16
    Boolit Buddy
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    Look on something like facebook adds or Craigslist list, see it weld before you buy.

  17. #17
    Boolit Master hc18flyer's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gofaaast View Post
    Lincoln ac/dc 225/125 stick is my recommendation. If schools in your state use an online auction firm to disperse what they replace, deals can be found there on welders. If you don’t know how to weld AC current is easier starting out (rod doesn’t stick as easy) but you waste rod and it’s much more difficult to weld in positions that are not flat. My reason for recommending the ac/dc. DC uses less electricity if that matters to you. Get some 6011 rod to practice with and you will have a good understanding after about 10 lbs is burned along with reading about welding. Auctions have cheap rod most of the time that is sufficient for practice. A wire welder with the current needed for farm jobs will cost more than a stick welder usually.
    I agree with this. A ac/DC is the low cost ticket for a beginner. Imhotep, a wire welder is well worth what it costs! We love our Miller, versatile and easy to use. Just like anything else worth doing, takes practice, and a basic welding class at a community college, would be an great start.

  18. #18
    Boolit Buddy
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    I just picked up a Lincoln 225 crackerbox for $125. We keep it in the farm shop for quickie repairs and tacking projects together so we don't have to listen to the Ranger 250 all day long. Then we weld it with the Ranger. I also have a Lincoln TIG for serious small stuff, and also oxy/acetylene for some welding. I was taught at pipe school on oxy/acet first as Ozark Mike said, before going on to stick. MIG/wire welders are only suitable for sheet metal IMO, I do not trust wire on anything serious - seen too many failures. Very, very, few welders can do a first quality job with wire - they are fast for production and allow a so-so "welder" to lay an OK looking bead.
    I told my son who is 18 and learning to weld to stay away from wire until he has mastered the stick. Already he lays beads with 7018's so nicely that most think it's wire.

  19. #19
    Boolit Man
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    Get a good welding book, such as Richard Finch's "Welder's Handbook." Read it first before you buy anything. It's not a big book or expensive but will teach you a lot. Learn what electrodes are suitable for which jobs. Don't buy a whole bunch of any one electrode; they don't retain their 'freshness' unless kept moisture free. 1 lb packages may not seem economical but they are when you have to throw out 4 lb of a 5 lb box because the flux has drawn moisture.

    If you can only afford one outfit, an oxy/acetylene torch and cutting attachment is the way to go. You WILL need the cutting torch on the farm. You can also braze with it (brass rod). Brazing is like soldering but stronger.

    If you can afford two, add a buzz box AC/DC stick welder. Get a GOOD helmet to go with it. This is essential. You can't weld what you can't see.

    Also get some kind of table to work on. You can make this; it can be your first project. Not mandatory but clamps and magnets are useful and cheap. And a good fire extinguisher.

    If money is no object, skip the buzz box and get a top of the line TIG welder or a gas powered Miller Bobcat if you'll be welding in the field. Plus you then have a pretty good generator, too.

    Buy all this stuff used if you can. It rarely wears out.

    Forgot to mention the plasma cutter. They're coming down in price and unlike the oxy/acetylene torch, will cut any metal.
    Last edited by cp1969; 06-14-2020 at 08:26 PM.

  20. #20
    Boolit Grand Master



    M-Tecs's Avatar
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    Depending on the rod re-drying is an option. Always follow the manufactures recommendations. I purchase in larger volume and vacuum seal them.

    https://www.lincolnelectric.com/en-u...es-detail.aspx

    If you can only have one the oxy/acetylene recommendation should be first. Next would be the AC/DC stick welder.
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